Sale goes way back with Rays

Sox lefty attended first Tampa Bay game in 1998

he was 9

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — White Sox left-hander Chris Sale is proud to say he was one of 45,369 fans who attended the first game in Tampa Bay history in 1998.

He has a panoramic photograph as a memento, as well as a mustard stain.

"My uncle took me to the game," said Sale, who was 9 at the time and grew up an hour from Tropicana Field. "We sat in the right-field bleachers."

Sale said he didn't grow up idolizing players but loved baseball and wanted to be part of the action.

"I brought my glove," Sale recalled. "I was ready for a ball. I was ready to go out there and throw on the field. I was big into sports when I was younger. My grandfather took me to a basketball game and I was sitting in the bleachers. I must have been 4 or 5 at the time, and I looked at him and said, 'When are they going to pass me the ball?' "

Sale remembers his uncle buying him a hot dog and a jersey with the Rays' old green and blue colors.

"And I got mustard right on the white part," said Sale, who said he still has the jersey.

Not done with Dunn: Adam Dunn wasn't in the Sox's lineup but took early batting practice in an effort to work out of his 2-for-23 slump.

Manager Ozzie Guillen said Dunn would continue to work with hitting coach Greg Walker, adding that some adjustments were in store.

"He's a pro," Guillen said. "I don't worry about it."

Extra innings: ESPN will telecast the Sox's game Monday in New York. The game will be carried locally by WCIU-26.